The old timers at the 59th Annual National Stationery Show, which took place May 15-18 at the Javits Center, grouse that the show ain’t what it used to be, and that traffic wasn’t great even on the “busy” days. Stationery’s role in our high-speed, email-driven world has undoubtedly dwindled, and on top of that, the…Continue Reading
A day spent trolling the aisles at this year’s Stationery Show suggests that a name change may be in order: there ain’t much paper in sight, and what little there is seems a mere afterthought to the now-familiar deluge of men’s silk ties, personalized golf and baseballs (two different manufacturers), lamp shades, chess boards, beaded…Continue Reading
“We will never be the same,” ran the popular refrain after 9/11, and as we continue to unpack that sentiment in the various parts of our lives, it seems a fitting enough epigram for the state of book publishing nearly four months into the post-terror twilight. Something has changed, all right. But across the industry…Continue Reading
What to say? Eloise gets larger and larger, and the blimp in her likeness lofting about the foyer of the Javits Center will probably be trundled out at the next Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. As for the rest of the Licensing 2001 International show, except for the endless licensing and marketing of dead movie stars,…Continue Reading
Book Packagers Make the Best of a Worst-Case Scenario “The advantage of working with packagers,” says Mark Magowan, associate publisher at Abrams, “is that when the math of a series goes down, you don’t have to fire your own staff.” Though Magowan may be grinning as he says it, it’s no joke that book packagers…Continue Reading
